This rugged looking case from Asus is literally strapped for some reason

Asus continues to flesh out its small but growing lineup of PC cases, with its latest introduction being the TUF Gaming GT301, a compact mid-tower designed to go with you to LAN parties. Just don't try picking it up by the fabric straps on the front: They're apparently for decorative purposes only.

They can be laced multiple ways, though, with three eyelets on either side to thread them through. Think of it as tying your shoes, if your shoes only had six total eyelets.

"You can arrange them in a zig-zag pattern, left to right, or even diagonally," Asus explains.

So, that's different. Of course, if you're not into the whole strapped look you could just take them out. I haven't seen this case in person, but maybe removing the straps would yield slightly better airflow. They sit in front of a honeycomb panel, behind which three 120mm addressable RGB fans pull cool air into the case. There's also a rear 120mm exhaust fan included.

For storage, the GT301 offers up four internal 2.5-inch bays, and two more bays that can accommodate both 3.5-inch and 2.5-inch drives. So you can have up to six 2.5-inch drives installed if you want to eschew 3.5-inch drives altogether.

The case measures 426 (L) x 214 (W) x 482 (H) mm, and weighs 7.2 kg (just shy of 16 pounds). It will obviously be heavier once you shove a bunch of components inside, but overall, the dimensions are not unwieldy for someone who wants to lug their desktop around to LAN parties. There's no handle, though, and the front panel comes off—so again, don't try carrying it by the front straps.

And yes, Asus definitely had LAN parties in mind when designing this chassis.

"Clips on the side of the case keep your mouse and keyboard wiring tidy while also preventing people from messing with your peripherals when you’re at LAN parties. An optional headphone hook is included in the box to keep your favorite set of gaming headphones from getting buried in the clutter on your desk," Asus says.

Asus actually introduced the GT301 at Computex last year, at the time saying it would be available in the US sometime in 2019 for $79.99. We're now into 2020, and it's finally getting ready to launch—there's still no concrete release date, but there is finally a product page.

Paul has been playing PC games and raking his knuckles on computer hardware since the Commodore 64. He does not have any tattoos, but thinks it would be cool to get one that reads LOAD"*",8,1. In his off time, he rides motorcycles and wrestles alligators (only one of those is true).